War Memorials

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War memorials fulfil our need to recognise, remember and learn about the profound losses and achievements of war:

It is not only for ourselves that we have erected this visible remembrance of great deeds, but rather that those who come after us and have not experienced the horrors of war, or realised the wanton destruction and utter futility of it all, may be inspired to devise some better means to settle international disputes other than by international slaughter.

His Excellency, the Governor Sir Alexander Hore-Ruthven, at the unveiling of the SA National War Memorial, 25 April 1931.

What is a war memorial?

A war memorial is a commemorative object intended to remind us of the people who served in and died as a result of war. War memorials may take many forms, but common to all of them is the intention that they remind us of those we have lost to war.

Forms and dedication of memorials

Forms

War memorials range in form, from simple memorial plaques and honour rolls to grand museums and monuments. Examples include:

gates

columns

walls

arches

crosses such as the Cross of Sacrifice

obelisks

statues

cairns

stones including Stones of Remembrance

cenotaphs.

There are places dedicated as war memorials that also serve a further practical purpose, such as:

gardens

pavilions

pools

halls

hospitals

lighthouses.

Despite differing ideas about an individual war memorials form, purpose, artistic merit, cost or location, all memorials have a shared intention of reminding us of those we have lost to war.

To view different forms and features of memorial, click on the links to overseas war memorial locations on this page.

Dedication

War memorials can be categorised according to:

by whom they are dedicated

to whom they are dedicated

where they are.

1. By whom

There are public memorials, private memorials, official government memorials and unofficial memorials. There are memorials dedicated on behalf of the nation or the State, memorials dedicated by and to specific branches of the services or military units, and memorials dedicated by businesses or by private individuals or families.

2. To whom

There are memorials dedicated to all who have served and others dedicated to all who have died. There are memorials dedicated to those who served or died in particular wars, battles, campaigns or events, while others are dedicated to all who have served or died from a state, town or district. Memorials to the missing commemorate those with no known grave.

3. Where

Battle exploit or battlefield memorials are sited near where those they commemorate fell in given battles. Prisoner of War (POW) memorials may be at the site of the former POW camps. War memorials can sometimes be found where units were or are based.

Memorials to the Missing

Vast numbers of casualties of the First and Second World Wars were never found or never positively identified.

Over 35,000 Australians from these wars have no known grave. However, each Australian who has died during war is commemorated by a Memorial to the Missing both in Australia and across the world. See the Memorials to the Missing page for details of memorials in Australia and overseas.

Australian regional memorials

Australian regional memorials have long been at the heart of community commemoration of our servicemen and women. Each Anzac Day and Remembrance Day local communities gather around town memorials to commemorate those who left their community to join other service personnel in the defence of freedom.

Origins, forms and ongoing significance

In many regional towns, even those settled after the First World War, memorials were built to commemorate the impact of the war. Since the Second World War and subsequent conflicts, many of these memorials have been updated and more continue to be built.

In 1966, the policy was introduced of repatriating war dead back to Australia for burial if possible. Prior to that, local war memorials were especially important in giving family and friends a focal point for remembering.

In Australia, generally only the names of those who served and died are inscribed on monuments and honour rolls, preserving them in the local memory. However, some monuments also include the names of people from the district who served and returned. This distinguishes Australia from British military tradition, which gives individual honours on monuments only to the dead.

Regional war memorials come in a multitude of forms. The memorial obelisk is a familiar sight in town centres and parks, as are columns, gates and memorial stones and cairns. Statues of mostly First World War soldiers, known as 'Digger memorials', are also a distinctive feature in regional towns.

An example of a unique regional memorial is that found in the north-western N.S.W. township of Tamworth. With Federal and State assistance, the Tamworth community raised $190,000, to erect a memorial dedicated to the single horse that returned to Australia from the First World War.

Newcastle sculptor Tanya Bartlett was commissioned to create a statue that commemorated all horses that died in the war. The bronze horse and trooper, with four large bronze plaques which tell of the exploits of the Light Horse during the First World War was unveiled by Major General W.B. Digger James AC MBE MC on 29 October 2009.

Today, as Anzac Day and Remembrance Day services continue to draw increasing crowds, regional memorials provide an ongoing focus for commemorative ceremonies. As Australia's population grows and settlements expand, more regional memorials such as the Tamworth memorial are being built to service community needs.

Grants for local memorials

Saluting Their Service (STS) commemorations grants are available to restore, preserve, upgrade and improve access to community war memorials. These grants also provide opportunities to build new community focussed memorials where none already exist.

Who can create a local Honour Board or Roll of Honour?

Local organisations or councils wishing to create a local memorial incorporating an Honour Board or Roll of Honour may freely access DVA published Nominal Roll website data. This information may be downloaded, displayed, printed and reproduced for personal, non-commercial use or use within your organisation. DVA asks that you acknowledge the source of any material used.

Because such Honour Boards and Rolls of Honour are not ‘official’ memorials for which the Australian Government takes responsibility, it is up to you as the project instigator to set your own inclusion criteria, e.g. listing veterans born in the particular area, or those who enlisted from the area etc.

You do require permission from the Department of Defence to use the Service badge/s.

Australian state memorials

Each Australian state and territory has a principal memorial that serves as a permanent shrine and focal point for the major commemorative ceremonies in that capital city. These memorials were completed and dedicated before the end of the First World War in the 1920s and 30s as the death toll of servicemen and women rose. They represent the homage paid by the governments and the people to their fellow Australians who fought and died on their behalf.

The losses and successes of the Second World War and Australia's later wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations are recognised at the state level by amendments to, and more broadly worded rededications of the principal memorials, together with further specifically dedicated memorials.

Following is a list of Australian state and territory memorials.

Australian Capital Territory

The Australian War Memorial, dedicated 1941, serves as the centre for commemorations in Canberra.

Overseas war memorials

Memorial restoration and preservation

The Overseas Privately-Constructed Memorial Restoration programme provides grants to assist Australian veterans and other individuals in the restoration and preservation of existing military unit and battle memorials constructed overseas. View Maintenance of war graves for more information.

Memorial locations

The OAWG maintains most of the memorials on the following list. It should be noted, however, that not all locations listed here host official memorials. Some are privately built and maintained.